


That Girl Band

by superfobnatural



Category: Fall Out Boy
Genre: Angst, Band Fic, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Female Friendship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Funny, Laughter, Male Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, Multi, Romance, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2015-12-09
Packaged: 2018-05-04 20:14:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5347166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superfobnatural/pseuds/superfobnatural
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When one of their opening bands drops out of the Believers Never Die Tour Part Deux, Fall Out Boy is desperate to find a replacement. Who would have thought it would come in the form of 4 girls from England who just needed a chance to prove themselves. But over the months of touring a certain side-burned singer may be falling for a blue-haired bombshell with a heart of gold but a ton of skeletons in her closet. Whilst he may think that she's out of his reach her friends may beg to differ, all he needs is to win her trust, something that not many people have managed to do in the past.<br/>I suck at summaries, but please give it a chance!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Great Dilemma of 2009

**Author's Note:**

> Ok guys, so this is my first work. I hope you enjoy it and bear with me because I'll try and update as often as possible for you!
> 
> My inspiration for this fic was from a quote by Pete Wentz, where he said that he thinks it's great more girls are getting on the stage in the rock industry, so I decided to write a fic in which this is shown, because I couldn't find many. I'm also a slut for Fall Out Boy and while I love Elisa (I think she's beautiful, and from what I hear basically a female version of Patrick) I just really like this idea of Patrick falling in love with someone that is his opposite. 
> 
> So please enjoy my fic, feel free to Kudos ;) xx

Patrick sighed, they were only 2 weeks into their new tour and unfortunately Hey Monday had had to drop out as a support act due to Cassadee having problems at home. Pete had already stomped off to the bunks on the tour bus, he knew that it couldn’t be helped but as he so eloquently put it; “This is the fucking BELIEVERS NEVER DIE TOUR! The fans are expecting something big Patrick, we can’t just let them down!”

Of course Patrick understood how big of a deal this tour was, heck, even Joe was starting to look stressed! But as it stood they still had Cobra, All Time Low and Metro Station to put out on stage for the fans, so hopefully that would be enough. As Patrick sat on the couch on his and Pete’s bus, mulling over what they were going to do in the new time they had to fill in the show schedule, his phone started to ring next to him, picking it up he noticed that it was Dirty.

“Hey Dirty, what’s up man?” Patrick asked tiredly.

“Dude, is Wentz with you?” He asked excitedly.

“Yeah, why?” 

“Just grab him and get your asses down to the stage now!” With that he hung up, leaving Patrick on the other end of the line, bewildered at what had just happened. 

Getting up, Patrick made his way to the back of the bus and gently knocked on the door that led to the bunks. Pete was his best friend but even Patrick wasn’t immune to his bitchy outbursts when he was upset.

“Pete, it’s me. I just got a call from Dirty, he wants us to go down to the stage.” He said carefully. Slowly the door opened, revealing a suspicious looking Pete Wentz, peaking through.

“Why? Is this his payback for me putting eggs in his shoes? Are you in on it too?”

“No I have no idea what its abo-, wait a minute, is that where my eggs went?”

“Oh yeah sorry I forgot to ask, can I borrow your eggs?

“Dude, seriously? C’mon, the guys are waiting for us.” Patrick finished.

“Fine I’m coming, but if I see any poultry related items flying towards me I’m using you as cover.” They both laughed as they started to make their way off the bus and down to the stage, both of them hoping that the guys had some news that was going to brighten up their already crappy morning.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Pete and Patrick made their way towards the stage they noticed that everyone that should have been working on getting everything set up for tomorrow night’s show where all stood around a laptop that was placed on the stage, and as they got closer they could hear the faint sound of music playing.

“Hey guys, what’s going on?” Pete asked, as they finally reached the group. Patrick couldn’t help but notice that all of them seemed to have varying looks of excitement on their faces,

“My man here” Joe started, putting his arm around Andy’s shoulders and giving him a little shake, “may have just found the solution to all of our problems.”

At this Pete and Patrick exchanged a look of surprise and finally moved towards the laptop to see what had everyone so excited. A YouTube video was playing, showing four young, pretty girls playing what sounded like an original song, they were in what seemed to be someone’s garage, or maybe a basement and they were all playing instruments. 

They were talented, there was no doubt about that, but there was something else about them that Pete really liked, maybe it was the way they all seemed to work so well together, even just looking at them through the little video window there was an obvious comradery between the four of them, so they had obviously known each other for a while. With that Pete reflected on his bands early days, when they had struggled to work well together, finding out how each other liked to perform, what they felt the most comfortable with. Joe liked to shake off his nervous energy by jumping around the stage, he would always say that the movement made him forget about the crowds and have fun. Andy liked to take his shirt off when drumming now-a-days, making him feel less restricted (and sweaty as he later mentioned). Pete himself liked to walk around the stage, busting out a dance move now and then, but mainly he liked to survey the audience, get a feel for the crowd, he essentially liked to people watch. Patrick, on the other hand, was quite different. He was getting better at looking more confident, but the fact that he tended to just hide behind his microphone stand gave him away. He would sometimes move out and around the stage during a guitar solo but apart from that he stayed where he was, he would barely even sway, Pete just hoped that he’d start to feel more comfortable in his own skin and believe what everyone else already knew; he was an amazing singer.

He was pulled back to reality by Joe elbowing him in the side. “So, what do you think?” He asked, a shit eating grin plastered on his face.

“They’re good.” Pete replied.

“Good? They’re fucking awesome man!” Gabe responded, coming to stand in between Pete and Patrick, wrapping his arms around them.

“Not to mention fucking hot.” Dirty Laughed from somewhere behind them.

“Wait, shouldn’t we find out more about them?” Patrick asked, always one for details.

Andy closed the laptop and looked at them “The band is called Don’t Look Down, they’re from the north of England, and the band consists of Derri Rivera, on drums, Kate Murray, on bass, Jamie Anderson on lead guitar and Sarah Dyer, lead singer and, from what I can gather, player of any musical instrument she can get her hands on, I mean this girl is like seriously fucking talented man!”

“England is pretty far dude, and how old are they?” Pete interjected “I mean yeah they’re talented, there’s no questioning that, but they look like they’re still in fucking high school.”

Andy smiled at this “The oldest is Kate, she’s 20, the rest of them are 19, and yeah England may be far but c’mon man, you can’t seriously be thinking of not getting them on the tour? They could use the exposure, and let’s face it, we need a band, something new, they look pretty great to me”.

Pete thought about it for a second, they were talented but they were still just kids, although Patrick was around the same age when they created Fall Out Boy, it could be worth a shot. “Alright, let’s put it to a vote. How many of you would not want Don’t Look Down on the tour with us?” The only response Pete received was a room full of people looking at him like he was an idiot. “Ok, how many of you would want- “. Before Pete had even finished the question everyone’s hands shot up into the air. “Well then it’s settled, do they have a number we can call?”

“Right here!” Joe jumped, shoving a piece of paper into Pete’s hands.

“Right then, I’ll go get our lovely Max the Manager and try and get this arranged.”

As his friends and the crew wandered off to continue what it was they were doing before the excitement, Patrick turned back and opened the laptop. The video had stopped on a close up of the singe- Sarah’s face, and Patrick couldn’t help the little flip his stomach gave when he looked into her bright blue eyes.


	2. The Call to Change Your Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet the four girls of Don't Look Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is longer, I have used some English slang, I don't know if you're familiar with it or if I'm just being dense;  
> Uni: University  
> Knickers: Panties  
> I'm sure there's more but I can't remember, just ask if you're unsure and I'd be happy to help!

Banging echoed through the hallway as Sarah pounded on the bathroom door. “JAMIE! GET YOUR ASS OUT OF THE BATHROOM!” She yelled, “I’ve got a lecture in an hour and you’re really not helping me out right now!”

The door was flung open, and Jamie stepped out, clutching a pair of straighteners and a wide array of hair products to her chest. “Alright, keep your knickers on, jeez.”

“How long can one person spend on their hair? 25 minutes is just taking the piss J.” Sarah sighed, stepping around her friend and into the bathroom they shared.

“Hey, my bar work is fine but I need my tips, and I don’t get them unless I’m looking hot as fuck. Why are you so bothered anyway? Normally you just wash your face and throw your hair up into a bun, it’s just a lecture, chill.”

“Unless you’re forgetting we have that gig tonight, and it’s going to be the biggest thing we’ve done so far. I won’t have time to shower when I get back from uni because we’ll have to get changed and go for sound check as soon as possible. Now if you don’t mind I need to get my arse in gear!” With that she shut the door.

Jamie smirked to herself and made her way back to her room to put her stuff away. She had known Sarah since she was born and one of the reasons they were such good friends was because Sarah always made her work harder, whether it was musically or just to actually be on time for something. Jamie placed her stuff on her bed and made her way out and downstairs to kitchen to get a cup of coffee before she had to leave. Walking into the room she laughed as she saw Derri sat at the kitchen island, almost falling asleep into her cereal, “Late one?”

“You could say that; I was out with Clara last night.” Derri smiled fondly as she recalled the events from the previous evening; a few drinks at Jamie’s bar and then back to Clara’s for some…fun.

“Ah I get it.” Jamie replied, getting her mug from the cupboard. “So is she like a full lesbian, or are we going to have to watch you mope as you worry your girlfriend will suddenly stray for penis?”

“Very funny fucker, but yes, she is a certified lemon licker, so I’m good.” Derri grinned, turning back to her cereal and poking around at the soggy mass that now filled her bowl. “I think I’ll just grab like, a yoghurt or something.” 

“Lemon licker? You are one classy bird Dex.” Jamie laughed as she waited for the kettle to boil. “Where’s Kate? She’s normally made a mess and left at this time.”

“She has the morning off so the lazy cow is still in bed.”

“Rude.” A voice from the hall commented, then Kate came walking in, phone in hand and a frown on her face. “And I do not make that much of a mess.”

“When you’re done with the kitchen it looks like a bloody bomb has gone off in here.” Derri commented, poking around in the fridge for something solid to eat. 

“Exactly.” Jamie chirped, sipping her coffee. “Why have you got your phone in your hand? You can’t possibly have gotten a call about a gig already, it’s seven thirty in the morning.”

“No I haven’t, but you never know, it’s sods law that the one time I’m not carrying my phone I miss a really important call.”

“The girl has a got a point.” Added Sarah, as she strode into the room. “And I think our makeshift manager is doing a top job.”

“She is indeed.” Replied Jamie, setting her mug down on the side. “Well I’ve got to get to work, there’s a wedding party this afternoon and I promised to help pick up some decorations and set shit up, so I’ll see you all tonight! Get your jamming heads on girls, this show is going to be awesome!” With that she put on her coat, picked up her bag and left, giving everyone the middle finger as she did so.

“I love that girl but she could reel it in a bit.” Sarah laughed, going through into the living room to pick up her university stuff that she had dumped in the corner the day before.

“I think it’s good that she’s like she is.” Derri interjected, “I mean, she knows how to deal with people, and let’s face it, no one ever has the balls to actually mess with us. We always get paid after our gigs and we don’t get any attitude from the owners of the clubs and stuff.”

“Very true.” Kate laughed “Y’know it’s really funny, I’m like the manager, Jamie is our bodyguard, Sarah is the face and Derri is the…the…um…”

“Derri is the what, Kate?” Sarah said, a sly smile starting to spread across her face.

“She’s t-the…um…” Kate stuttered.

“Go on Kate.”

“Oh Sarah, it’s 7:45!” Kate blurted, looking for an escape.

“Oh fuck! I’m late!” She said, looking at her watch. Sarah proceeded to grab her bag and her car keys and ran from the room and straight out of the front door. Kate let out a long breath and closed her eyes, when she opened them she realised Derri was staring at her from her place in front of the fridge.

“Derri is the what, Kate?”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sarah was slowly starting to panic now. She was stuck in traffic on her way home from university and at the moment she was currently trying to plan out how she was going to get home and get ready in time for sound check at the club they were performing at.

It was safe to say that she was nervous, but this is what she loved. She always got nervous before a show, but that creeping feeling of anxiety that would sometimes crawl up her throat just made her feel more alive, something that she felt she was lacking sometimes. 

It was no secret that she had had her problems in the past, she had her demons and had done things that she regretted, her self-destructive behaviour didn’t just harm her, it harmed the people around her, the ones she loved. Sarah thought back over the past few years, when she had really struggled just getting through the day, depression does that to a person, makes them feel too small in a world that is too big, and her way to deal with these feelings was to shut people out. It was this kind of behaviour that helped her decide who her friends were, she had three best friends and they had been chosen due to their refusal to give up on her, to pick her up when she was in a million pieces, and to put her back together the best they could, just to watch her soar. 

Sarah smiled to herself, she loved her friends, when she had applied to university she knew she wanted to move out, but because of her past problems her parents weren’t too taken with the idea. She understood this completely, but she needed the space, to grow and work things out for herself without having her parents to hold her hands and tell her everything will be ok. That’s when Jamie came up with the idea of them all moving in together, the four of them, and sharing all the bills between each other. The idea was discussed between each other and their families, Sarah had inherited a good deal of money from her grandfather when he died, he was a musician in the Royal British Orchestra and had taught her everything she knows about music, she loved him so much and was devastated when he passed away 5 years ago. When she was 18 she was finally entitled to access the inheritance and with that, and money that was chipped in from the rest of the girls’ families, they managed to buy a house down in London for them all to share. Within the first month of moving in Jamie had gotten a job working in a bar, Kate was working in a café, and Derri was working as IT support in an office building.

Sarah was currently at university, studying Criminology. All she’d ever wanted to do was work in the music industry, but her mother had always told her that she couldn’t rely on a dream that may never happen so had encouraged her to get a “proper job”. She decided that if she couldn’t be a musician then she’d like to work with people that were hopefully crazier than her. Unlike her three comrades she didn’t complain about what she had to do, she loved her lectures, they were really interesting, but she longed to be on the stage, playing in front of crowds of people, screaming their song lyrics back at them, dancing to the music.

She was broken from her reverie by a loud honk of a horn from behind her, the lights had changed to green and she hadn’t realised. She put her foot on the gas and turned down her street as fast as was legally possible. Pulling into her drive she slammed the car door shut and ran to the front door, bursting into the house she sprinted up the stairs and to her bedroom, pulling out the outfit she had planned the night before and started throwing off her clothes. 

There was a wolf whistle from behind her and she turned to see Jamie stood leaning against the door frame. “You’re late, we’ve got to go in like 5 minutes and we still have to load all the gear into your car.”

“Yes, I realise that, thank you.” Sarah snapped, turning away. She was stood in her bra and the pair of purple skinny jeans she had been wearing all day.

“Dude, your tattoo looks awesome now you’ve had it finished.” Jamie commented, walking into the room and sitting on the bed. Sarah had decided that when she moved out she wanted to get some ink, she’d heard people say that it was a great way of expressing yourself, that they had meanings. With this in mind she decided to go with a pair of black shaded angel wings across her back, with the word ‘Hope’ written at the bottom, in between the tails of each wing.

“Thanks” Sarah smiled “I’m going to wear that backless top to show it off.”

“Wow, tattooed back and blue ombréd hair, Dyer we’ll make a rebel out of you yet.”

“Haha, funny. Here,” Sarah replied, throwing her car keys into Jamie’s lap “Go start loading the car and I’ll be down as fast as I can.”

“Yes boss” Jamie mock saluted and left the room, calling for Derri and Kate as she went.

Sarah pulled on her clean black skinny jeans and grey backless top and looked herself over in the mirror, making sure she looked perfect for the night ahead. 

“DYER!” Derri hollered up the stairs “MOVE YOUR ASS”

“Right.” Sarah whispered to herself. “Time to rock and roll.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The show was a success, all four of them were on it and they totally rocked the place. Between their own original songs that had the crowd whooping, and the covers that had people singing along with every word, they can safely say that the show was one of their best. Their friend Jack approached them after the show, already swaying with the alcohol that was in his system.

“You guyssss ROCKED” He giggled, burping in the process. “Hey, there’sss ssome hot girlss that want to meet you, I can totally bring them round to yoursss later.”

“Maybe next time Mr. Stead.” Kate laughed, patting him on the shoulder and moving on towards the bar. They had drinks to toast their success, before packing up their gear and making their way back to the house. By the time they had finished unpacking all of their equipment tiredness was beginning to creep up on them, and the four girls decided to all crash in the sitting room together and have another drink, within an hour they were all asleep.

At one in the morning they were woken by a relentless banging on the front door, followed by the letter box flap slamming over.

“HEY! IT’S JACK STEAD!” Came a voice from the letter box.

“WHO’S CAT’S DEAD?” Yelled back a half-asleep Derri. At this Kate, Jamie and Sarah all looked between each other.

“NO! IT’S JACK STEAD!” Came the voice again.

“WHO’S FUCKING CAT’S DEAD?” Derri bellowed, starting to get agitated. The three other girls in the room were now giggling, trying to make sense of the scene that was unfolding before them,

“NOT CAT’S DEAD, JACK STEAD!”

“OH JACK STEAD!” Derri shouted, realisation dawning on her.

“YES!” The voice called.

“WELL FUCK OFF! WE’RE SLEEPING!” With that the letter box slammed shut and the sound of annoyed mumbling could be heard getting fainter.

As the four were just settling back down there was a shrill ring as Kate’s phone lit up. “I swear to god, if that’s Jack Stead I will kick his balls into his throat.” Derri grumbled into her pillow.

Kate laughed as she answered the phone, putting it on speaker phone so the others could hear. “Hello, this is Kate Murray- “.

“I hope there’s a good reason you’re calling at stupid o’clock!” Jamie interjected.

“Hello” Came and American voice from the other line, it sounded faint and far away. “Sorry we forgot about the time difference. Is this Kate Murray from the band; Don’t Look Down?”

Kate looked up, making eye contact with Sarah, the pair exchanging a confused look. “Yes it is, how can I help you?”

“Hi Kate, my name is Mick Shaw, and I’m calling on behalf of Fall Out Boy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it!   
> The Jack Stead story is actually based on something that did happen to me, I seem to be the only one who finds it funny though, I really hope this isn't the case...  
> I'll try and update as soon as possible guys!


	3. The Big Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Girls have some big decisions to make, and Pete is slightly impatient.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another slightly long one, hope you enjoy and I'll try to update tomorrow, Monday at the latest.   
> Also I forgot that in America you have to pay for University/College, whereas in England the government pay for it and we get student loans and we have to pay it all back when we have a job and we're earning more than £25,000 a year.  
> Unless you live in Scotland...it's free in Scotland.

The whole room went into silence as the four girls sat staring at the phone, the same thought running through their heads; “Why would Fall Out Boy’s management be contacting us?”

“Miss Murray? Are you there?” Mick’s voice crackled from the phone.

“Um, y-yes. H-how can we help you?” Kate stuttered nervously, she really didn’t know how to react right now.

“Well Miss Murray, as you may or may not know Fall Out Boy have just started their Believers Never Die Tour, and unfortunately one of the opening bands; Hey Monday, have had to drop out.” Kate’s head snapped up to look at her band mates, the three of them were wearing looks of shock and hope at what Mick had just told them. “So you see we have some time to fill, and one of the band members has put you forward.”

“WAIT, WHAT?!” Sarah exclaimed. “One of the band members put us forward?!”

Mick chuckled at her outburst. “Yes indeed, we travel a lot and the boys can get quite bored, and it would seem that our drummer Andy Hurley passes the time by watching your videos, he seems to be a big fan of your YouTube channel.”

“It’s a drummer thing, y’know, good taste.” Derri smiled.

“So you see ladies” Continued Mick “The boys and the crew were talking and they’ve decided that they would like to offer you the opportunity to join us for the rest of the tour, if you would be interested that it is.”

“Oh my God, of co-” Kate began.

“Wait!” Interrupted Sarah. The girls looked at her, wide eyed. “We obviously appreciate the offer Mick, it’s a dream come true, but would we be able to have some time to discuss it?”

“I don’t see why not, I understand that this must be a big decision for you, but I’ll have to rush you I’m afraid. How about I call you back in around 24 hours, but obviously at a more reasonable time?” He laughed this time. 

“Yeah, that sounds good, we look forward to hearing from you again.” Finished Sarah.

“And you ladies, Goodnight.” 

The call ended and Sarah looked up to see all the girls still looking at her. “What?” She asked.

“Are you for real?” Derri replied, mouth agape. “You’re not really thinking about turning down this opportunity are you?!” She asked in disbelief.

“I don’t know! I really want to do it, of course I do-”

“Then what’s the problem?” Jamie interrupted.

“Well what about university? My family? Our families? Your jobs? We can’t just take off and not tell anyone!” Sarah stated.

“She’s got a good point.” Interjected Kate. “I mean we’d have to find a real manager. I can’t tour and sort out all of shit. Although I feel no remorse in quitting my job, I understand how hard it has to be for you to leave university.”

“Shit I didn’t think of that.” Mumbled Jamie.

Derri sighed “Well I think we need to sleep on it girls. Let’s go to bed, we’ll talk about it at a more reasonable hour.”

With that the girls all got up from their places in the living room and shuffled off to their bedrooms, saying goodnight to each other as the separated. All of them hoping that a new day would bring a new perspective.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mick sighed when he hung up the phone, these girls seemed sweet, and he knew they were talented, he could only hope that when he called back the answer was a yes. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, that’s when he became aware of the sound of whispers coming from the other side of his door. Getting up he walked towards it as quietly as he could and listened, and after identifying the voices he wrenched the door open and smirked as a bashful Joe Trohman and surprised Pete Wentz fell into the room.

“So, how’d it go?” Pete asked in a sing-song voice from his place sprawled across Joe on the floor.

“They’re thinking on it” Mick said simply, stepping over them and starting to walk down the hall and to the back exit of the building, it had been a stressful day and he was dying for a smoke.

“They’re thinking on it?” Pete said surprised, scrambling off of Joe and following Mick, he obviously wasn’t getting any piece anytime soon. “This is like a once in a lifetime opportunity. How could they not grab it with both hands?”

“They’re just kids Pete, this is a big deal for them, they’ve got parents and stuff to worry about.” Mick replied.

“Yeah dude, remember how Patrick’s mom got when he first left in that shitty van with us?” Joe reminded him, laughing slightly.

“Yeah, I guess.” Pete said after a slight pause, obviously pouting.

“If it makes you feel any better Pete, they did seem really excited about it, I think they’ll end up coming along.”

“Really?” Pete asked, that big smile on his face again.

“Yes, call it…managers intuition.” Mick smiled back.

“Our next show is in 5 days, let’s hope we’ve got a new band on stage for the audience by then.” Joe finished, putting his arm around Pete and steering him away so Mick could finish his smoke in peace.

The walked back to the tour buses and both got on Pete and Patrick’s bus to tell the other half of the band the news. When they stepped on Andy was reading a comic and Patrick was playing with some song on his laptop.

“Guess who’s got a new opening act?!” Pete exclaimed, grinning as he went to sit next to Andy. Joe noticed Patrick’s head snap up at the comment, staring wide-eyed, “It’s almost funny” Joe thought to himself, dropping to sit on the end of the sofa.

“They said yes?” Andy asked, looking at Pete.

“Not exactly, but they’re going to.” Pete finished, Andy raising his eyebrow and looking over at Joe to fill in the details.

“They’re sleeping on it” Joe added “They’re going to have a lot of shit to sort out first.”

“Understandable.” Patrick chipped in “Must be scary, y’know, the thought of having to travel to a new place and be around people you’ve never met before.”

“Well ‘Trick, I’m sure we can count on you to give them a warm welcome.” Pete added, leaning over to pat him on the knee.

“Wait” Andy started “You called them now? Wouldn’t it be like one in the morning in England?” The four boys paused to think about this before Pete interrupted the silence with a simple “Oh shit”.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Yes mum…I know mum…Yes America is a long way away…My bipolar won’t be a problem mum…because I have the girls to keep me safe…Kate won’t be that busy because she won’t be our manager anymore…we’re going to find a new manager…I don’t know yet, I can’t call to find anyone because you’ve kept me on the phone for about half an hour now…sorry, there was no need for the attitude…I’ve got to go mum, I’ll call you back later…No I won’t go to America without telling you…Ok…Love you too…Bye mum.” Sarah hung up the phone and groaned, she really wished she’d had a better night sleep before having to make that call. Poking her head through her bedroom door and into the hall she could still hear her friends’ voices as they tried to explain the situation to their parents too. 

Sarah went back into her room and collapsed onto her bed and let out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding. Due to not being able to sleep Sarah had got up in the middle of the night and done some research, she had decided to learn more about this tour they had been invited to join, she’d found that the band Hey Monday had pulled out due to family problems and fans of the band were quite upset about it, but then she saw a post from Fall Out Boy’s management on their website, informing fans that they had their eyes on a new band that could be a worthy replacement. Sarah remembered the butterflies in her stomach when she read that comment, that’s when she decided, she couldn’t pass this up, yes it was scary, and yes it would be hard, but it was an amazing opportunity, and she couldn’t let the girls down, Sarah knew how much they wanted this. University was the hardest decision, but after around 3 hours of thinking about it she decided that she was going to drop out, it took a lot of going back and forth on the idea before she finally settled on it, with the thought that if this whole adventure went south, she could always reapply and start again, she had only just started her second year, but she didn’t mind re-doing the first, it would give her something to do instead of crying over the fact she’d smashed her dreams into the ground. 

So with all this in her head she decided to go for it, when she got up in the morning she found her bandmates and best friends all sat around the kitchen island, staring at her and waiting for her to speak. Even though Jamie was definitely the most confident, Kate was the most organised, and Derri was the most level-headed, the girls would always look to her to know what they should do. Sarah was sure it was because they saw her as some porcelain doll, breakable, and that the only reason they turned to her was to make sure she decided on something that would help her keep the crazy away. She only told them this once, Jamie’s response was to punch her in the arm and then pull her into a hug, telling her that that wasn’t the case, and they looked to her for guidance because she just thought about things they didn’t, that she made decisions that would be best for everyone. So when she approached them in the kitchen and simply said “Let’s do this” it was no surprise that everyone jumped into action and started to make plans on who they needed to contact first.

Sarah’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door. “Come in.” She said without hesitation. It was Kate, looking just as tired as Sarah felt. “Hey, how did your call go?” Sarah asked.

“Surprisingly well,” Kate huffed, dropping onto the bed and putting her head into the lead singer’s lap “Dad’s happy for us, as long as we all look out for each other he’s fine with it. Oh! I also may have found the solution to our manager problem.” Kate grinned up at Sarah, looking fairly proud of herself.

“Really? That’s great! Who did you get?” Sarah smiled back.

“Do you remember Andrew Hart? Tall kid in college that punched that guy that called Derri a…derogatory name.” Kate said, wincing slightly at the memory.

“How could I forget? That guy was like our hero.”

“Well, as luck would have it, he wants to go into management. All he needs is someone to manage that has potential, and I mean, who has more than us” Kate laughed “Anyway, I told him about what was happening and he said he would love the opportunity to work with us, he even said that he’d do it for free while we get on out feet on the tour.”

“Kate Murray, I could kiss you! You are a frigging God send!” Sarah Laughed, leaning down to awkwardly hug her friend.

“Woah, I told you already guys, we don’t need any more lesbians in this group, one is enough.” Derri laughed, strolling into the bedroom and sitting Indian style on the end of the bed. “What’s with all the hugging?”

“Kate here has got us a manager!”

“Fuck off! For real?!” Derri said, looking down at the brunette bassist.

“Yep.” Kate replied, a smug smile on her face.

“Who?” Jamie asked, jumping onto the bed.

“Andrew Hart” Sarah added.

“My knight in shining armour?” Derri asked, shocked.

“Who’s that?” Jamie added, bewildered. Jamie hadn’t gone to college like the rest of the girls, instead deciding she would rather go straight into work and focus on her music.

“He was that guy that knocked out that homophobe that called me a fag.” Derri informed her, scowling at the memory.

“I like this guy already.” Jamie grinned.

“So everyone is informed.” Kate stated, trying to get the conversation on track “Should we start packing to go? I mean, I guess when we accept this offer we’re going to have to go as soon as possible.”

“What now?” Jamie’s head shot up, she looked scandalised at the notion.

“Uh, yeah. Unless you plan on slowly stealing Pete Wentz’s pants?” Kate replied, a bemused expression on her face.

Jamie groaned and got up, making her way to the door “They’d be too small, the guy has the legs of a stick insect” She grumbled, before stepping out of the room and stomping down the hall, leaving three girls laughing in her wake.

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Kate surveyed their house and felt a pang of sadness, she was going to miss this place over the next few months. Today had been a busy day; they’d packed up everything they needed and it was all in suitcases in their living just waiting to be taken to the airport, Sarah had called her university and had ended up driving down there to sign the paperwork that was needed for her to quit, and then having to recall her mother, more to inform her than ask her about everything that had been happening, it was a battle of wills that Sarah eventually won, with a little help from her dad and siblings. The house had been cleaned from top to bottom, Andrew had arrived with his own suitcase and a smile on his face, Jamie had taken to him straight away, laughing at Sarah’s passing comment of “Down girl” as she left the house. They were currently all sat in the living room eating takeout and waiting for the call to come in, Kate loved it, she loved how close they all were, including Andrew and he’d only joined their little bunch of misfits about 5 hours ago. Kate had a feeling that this tour was just the beginning for them, they were going to be ok after all.

Suddenly there was the familiar ring of Kate’s phone filling the room and everyone turned to stare at it. Kate picked it up and was just about to answer when she paused and looked at Andrew. “Here” She said “You’re our manager now, you take the call.” 

Andrew grinned, taking the phone from her hand and answering the call. “Hello, this is Andrew Hart, manager of Don’t Look Down.” All the girls smiled at him, this is the most professional they’d ever been.

“Oh, hello Andrew, this is Mick Shaw, manager of Fall Out Boy, I was just calling to ask if your band had made a decision about joining us on tour?”

“We have” Andrew smiled “It would be an honour to open for Fall Out Boy, we’re ready when you are.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mick smiled as he hung up the call, all the details had been discussed and the girls would be on the next flight to Chicago to meet up with the band before the first show the day after. It was going to be tight with the timing, but he was certain they could handle it.

He made his way to the hotel room that the bands were hanging out in and knocked on the door before letting himself in, as soon as he passed the threshold there was silence in the room as everyone turned and looked at him expectantly.

“They’re in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise there will be more Fall Out Boy in the next chapter! I just needed to set the scene for my OFCs so you know where they come from and what they're about. Hope you enjoyed it!


	4. The Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bands finally meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tried to split it up so I could have an equal amount of both parties in this chapter, hope it reads right and that you enjoy it!

“Ho-ly shit.” Jamie gaped, looking around the aeroplane cabin they were calling home for the next 6 hours. The tour management had really gone all out and placed the five brits in their own private, first class cabin.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they were trying to butter us up.” Kate added, looking up at the spotlights on the roof.

“This is kind of…intimidating.” Sarah muttered to herself. Jamie overheard and looked over to her best friend, Sarah was stood next to the wall with her arms wrapped around herself, looking around her surroundings with wide-eyes.

Jamie strode over and put her arm around her, guiding her over to one of the arm chairs and pushing her to sit down. “Relax, they’re probably just used to the perks of their job and forgot that we’ve only ever flown coach before.” Jamie laughed, placing a soothing hand on Sarah’s back. “Just enjoy it, after all, it’s better than having an 8-year-old kicking the back of your chair all the way to Chicago.”

“And this time we won’t get into trouble because Derri decided to flip the bird at a child.” Kate chipped in, laughing as she dropped into the chair opposite Sarah.

“The little shit had it coming.” Derri scowled, looking through the minibar on the other side of the cabin.

“What have I gotten myself into?” Wondered Andrew aloud. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“3 MORE HOURS!” Pete declared, jumping onto the sofa that his band mates occupied in their hotel room. 

“Shut the fuck up dude.” Joe winced, it was too early for Pete to be this loud.

“I can’t wait to meet them; they seem really awesome.” Andy smiled, looking up from his comic book.

“Yeah they do.” Pete grinned “Hey ‘Trick, maybe we can get you a new girlfriend.” 

“I’ve already got a girlfriend.” Said Patrick, raising and eyebrow as he looked over at his friend “Me and Emma have been dating for 5 months now.”

Pete was looking anywhere but at Patrick “Yeah I know, but she’s, y’know…”

“A major bitch?” Joe supplied.

“Guys, lay off” Patrick sighed “She is nice, she just doesn’t like it when people act all immature.”

“Dude, she hates me.” Pete commented “I’ve even started acting on my best behaviour around her, but she won’t budge.”

“It’s not even the immaturity thing” Andy added, “She has to monitor everything you do.”

“No she doesn’t.” Patrick argued, and as if on cue his phone pinged, indicating a text message. Patrick picked up his phone and muttered a quick “shut up” before moving to his room for some privacy.

“I hope he comes to his senses and realises he could do so much better, and the sooner the better.” Pete muttered, happy he wasn’t the only one who thought this when his friends nodded in response.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Where the fuck is baggage claim?” Jamie groaned, they’d been walking around the airport for what felt like hours, having to go through all the different security checks before actually being allowed to leave.

“Jamie!” Kate hissed, eyeing the kids and their frowning mother who were walking past them at the time.

Sarah smirked, she was feeling a lot calmer now and just wanted to get to the hotel and lie down and sleep off her jetlag, even though it had been a pretty peaceful flight, aside from the odd bickering from Andrew and Jamie over who would get the last packet of peanuts, that ended with a superior looking Jamie and Andrew in a heap on the floor.

“So, ‘Drew, any ideas?” Derri asked, hoping to get out the hot, crowded airport as fast as possible.

“Yep, it’s this way!” Andrew announced, leading all the girls in a new direction.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Forty-five minutes, forty-five minutes, forty-five minutes!” Pete repeated excitedly, bouncing slightly from his place on the floor. They had all gathered in one of hotel meeting rooms so they could all great the newbies together, at the moment everyone was engrossed in a Mario Kart battle between Cobra Starship and All Time Low.

“Remind me again, how long until they get here?” Alex grinned, knocking into Gabe in hopes of throwing him off his game and making him crash.

“Hey! No cheating Gaskarth!” Gabe pouted, knocking Alex back, making him slip on a banana peel and curse quietly.

“And please don’t get him started again Alex.” Jack groaned, pulling a pair of headphones on, ready for the next wave of Pete’s excited energy.

“Man I hope these girls are single.” Said Dirty, as he sat back sipping a beer and watching the game.

“Why? They hot?” Asked Jack, taking off his headphones and looking at Dirty.

“Of course you’re interested now.” Laughed Zack.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“This is it, the hotel.” Breathed Andrew, looking out of taxi window at the expensive looking building they had pulled up outside of. The five of them climbed out, Derri having to hop off of Jamie’s knee in the process, and walked round to the trunk to collect their luggage, as Kate was paying the driver a tall, built, balding man walked out of the hotel towards them, smiling widely.

“Don’t Look Down! It’s great to finally met you.” The man said, shaking everyone’s hands, “I’m Mick, we spoke on the phone.”

Andrew looked at him and stepped up, “I’m Andrew, their manager, it’s an honour to be here.”

“Well we’re just glad you said yes, you’ve really saved our bacon here. Anyway, everyone is upstairs waiting to meet you, so if you’d like to come this way ladies.” Mick motioned towards the door, indicating for them to go ahead.

“E-everyone?” Sarah asked, “Who’s everyone?”

“Just all the bands and the crew, they’re waiting in a room upstairs.” Mick explained.

“I-I, umm, ah.” Sarah stammered, looking like a fish out of water. 

Jamie was there in an instant with an arm around her friend’s shoulder. “Sarah doesn’t do well in these kinds of situations.” She explained to Mick, who was watching the singer with a worried expression. “She’s amazing on stage, but put her in a social situation and it all goes downhill.”

“Ah, I see. Well not to worry, we can just tell them that you’re not a good flyer and you needed some rest, then you can meet them in your own time. How does that sound?” Mick asked, going over to place a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“That would be great, thank you.” Sarah replied sincerely.

“Well then, let’s go.” Beamed Derri, leading the charge into the hotel foyer.

They all walked inside to the front desk where their rooms were sorted out, they were sharing a suite that had a lounge and mini kitchen, and four bedrooms extending from it. Sarah thought it sounded like heaven right now, she couldn’t wait to just go lie down and sleep off her jetlag, she was obviously excited to meet the bands, but not as much as her fellow band mates, she was just so damn anxious around new people. They all made their way to the elevator and when it reached the floor their hotel room was on Sarah bid farewell to her band mates and set off to find her room.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mick walked the small party to what seemed to be a large meeting room on the 12th floor of the hotel, excited voices could be heard coming from the other side of the door.

“You ready? Mick asked, looking at the group.

“You bet.” Jamie challenged, walking forward and striding confidently into the room, her four friends following close behind. They were hit with silence as the entered, all heads turning to look at them. For all her confidence Jamie was barely able to conceal her shock, she was actually stood in a room with Fall Out Boy, and they had asked for them to be here.

“Yes! You’re here!” Suddenly the girls were in the presence of Pete Wentz, who was pulling them all into a big hug, “Hey, I thought you were four girls? Where’s the blue haired one?” Asked Joe, walking up to great the girls as well.

Andrew stepped forward to shake Joe’s hand “That’s Sarah, she wasn’t feeling too good, bad flyer, so she went for a lie down, I’m Andrew, their manager, this is Derri, Jamie and Kate.” He explained, pointing to each girl as he called them out.

“Oh right, I get it, I hate flying too.” Pete smiled, “Let me introduce you everyone! You’ve met me and Joe, that’s Andy over there reading the comic, over there playing video games is Gabe, Alex and Zack, and that’s Jack in the big chair.” All of the guys smiled and waved as Pete introduced them, “The crew had to go over to the venue to sort shit out for tomorrow night.” He explained.

“I see you’re also missing a singer.” Derri pointed out.

“He had to make a call, said he’d be here when he was done.” Explained Andy, as he approached the group. “It’s great to meet you, I’m the one who put you forward for the job.” He smiled, hugging each of the band members. 

“Ah, my fellow drummer.” Derri beamed, “So good to finally meet you!” 

“And you, you wouldn’t happen to be a John Bonham fan would you?”

“Are you freaking kidding me? I love Led Zeppelin!” She exclaimed.

“And don’t get me started on their guitar riffs.” Joined in Joe, leading the two to a couch in the corner.

“Andrew, how about we leave the girls to get acquainted and we’ll discuss some of the tour details?” Mick asked, smiling at the younger.

“Sounds good, you three behave.” Andrew laughed, following Mick from the room.

“We always do.” Jamie called back, smirking as she went and sat on the sofa in front of the television. “So,” she said, looking at Alex, “What are we playing?”

Kate smiled, these guys seemed nice, she just hoped Sarah would be able to find her feet and enjoy herself rather than worry.

“You seem distracted.” Pete whispered to her, leaning over to her so no one else would hear them.

“I’m just worried about Sarah, but I’m just the mama bear of the group, once I know everyone is settled and happy, that’s when I relax.” Kate breathed, turning to look at Pete, “I know it’s weird, they’re not children, but they’re my family and I love them.”

“I knew there was something special about you guys,” Pete smiled, putting his arm around the younger, “I think it’s great you look out for each other, we do the same here. It’ll help you guys in the long run, and I’m sure Sarah will be fine, I haven’t met her yet but we’ve got such a wide variety of personalities here that I’m sure she’ll fit in there somewhere.”

“I hope so Pete.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sarah huffed as she walked down the corridor, why was this hotel so freaking big? Turning around a corner she yelped in surprise as she was knocked on her ass when she collided with a solid body.

“Holy smokes! I’m really sorry!” A voice said above her, a voice that sounded very familiar, a hand was thrust in front of her to help her up and she took it gratefully. Being pulled to her feet she looked up and came face to face with someone that just the other day she had been watching on the television.

“You’re Patrick Stump.” She stated simply, still in surprise of being knocked down and meeting one of her idols all in the space of a minute. She was suddenly aware of how close together they were standing, something that Patrick must have noticed too as he stepped back and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Um, yeah I am.” He responded, Sarah was wondering if he was waiting for a major fangirl response, something that she did not want to give him.

“Hi I’m Sarah, I’m from Don’t Look Down, you’re new opening band…” She trailed off, looking at her hands, would he even know, or care?

“Oh! I thought you looked familiar.” Patrick laughed, as Sarah looked up at him she noticed he had a small smile on his face.

“I-Shouldn’t you be upstairs with everyone else?” He asked curiously.

“I wasn’t feeling too good, I’m not a great flyer.” She said, it wasn’t really a lie, she didn’t like flying, but she didn’t want him to know the real reason, “I’ll at least give it a few more weeks before I reveal the crazy.” She thought to herself.

“Really? I think you look great.” Patrick said, his eyes suddenly going wide, “I mean, like healthy, n-not that you don’t look good, because you do, it’s just I meant…” He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck again, suddenly finding Sarah’s suitcase incredibly interested.

Sarah laughed and Patrick looked back at her, a slight embarrassed blush forming on his cheeks. “It’s ok, I get what you mean,” She giggled, “I’m sorry,” She laughed again, “It’s just, it’s not every day I meet someone as socially awkward as me.” She laughed again, this time Patrick joined in.

“Well I best be getting upstairs to meet the rest of your band.” Patrick smiled, “We were all planning on going out and treating you to dinner tonight. If you’re feeling better by then maybe we could sit together?” He asked, Sarah thought he sounded slightly hopeful, or maybe that was just her. “Y’know, so you know someone there before you’re introduced to everyone else.”

Sarah didn’t bother to mention that her friends would be there too, she was just excited at the idea of sitting with the cute boy with the sideburns and the trucker cap. She internally slapped herself, “Get a grip Dyer, he’s just being polite.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a plan, I’ll see you then.” She smiled, grabbing the handle of her suitcase, “Bye Patrick.”

“I’ll see you later.” He responded. She waved at him and started walking down the hall towards her room, a small smile growing on her face as she went, unaware that the older was walking in the other direction, the same smile playing on his face too

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long! The next chapter will be the dinner where I'll reveal how the girls met each other and more about their personal lives! 
> 
> Follow me on Instagram? longlivethecar.crash.hearts 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm currently writing an essay on Social Science at the same time so please bare with me! <3 xx


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